Space Systems/Loral Selected to Provide Two Powerful Satellites for Australia's National Broadband Network

PALO ALTO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/07/12 --
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) (NASDAQ: LORL), the world's leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide two high throughput communications satellites that will be used to deliver high speed broadband service to rural and remote areas of Australia. The satellites will be operated by NBN Co Limited (NBN Co), which was established to implement the Australian government policy initiative of providing access to high speed broadband to every household and business in the country via an integrated national network that will utilize fiber, wireless and satellite technologies.

"We are honored to be a part of the Australian government's initiative to provide universal broadband service to all of its citizens," said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. "Today, access to the internet is crucial for education, safety, and economic development. Satellite is a highly cost-effective solution for providing high-speed connectivity over broad geographic areas and the Australian government has demonstrated visionary thinking in looking to satellite as one of the three chosen technologies to deliver service to every part of the nation."

Space Systems/Loral has built more satellites for broadband communications than any other manufacturer, and has built the world's highest capacity broadband satellites which deliver more than 100 gigabits per second throughput. The two satellites, NBN Co 1A and 1B, are both Ka-band, high-throughput broadband satellites that use multiple spot beams in an advanced design that tailors capacity to Australia's vastly distributed population. When launched in 2015, the satellites will provide service to some of the most remote places in Australia, as well as its coastal islands and external territories including Norfolk Island, Cocos Island, Christmas Island and Macquarie Island in the Antarctic.

"This announcement is a significant step towards reducing the digital divide between Australians living in urban areas and those living in the most geographically isolated regions. Rural and remote communities can now look forward to receiving enhanced broadband connectivity that will assist them in accessing the types of business, health, education and government services that people in metropolitan areas take for granted, " said Mike Quigley, chief executive officer of NBN Co. "We selected Space Systems/Loral to design and build our satellites because of its leadership in delivering the world's largest and most powerful satellites, and its long history of success in providing satellites for broadband service."

The satellites for NBN Co are based on the SS/L 1300 platform which leads the industry in reliability and has been optimized to provide enhanced performance and capacity distribution for broadband missions. The satellites are designed to provide service for 15 years or more.

The contract award also includes satellite control facilities, support for system capacity planning and optimization, systems to manage satellite operations, and end-to-end systems integration support.

About NBN Co LimitedNBN Co Limited was established in 2009 to implement the Australian Government's policy initiative to design, build, and operate a National Broadband Network to provide access to high speed broadband to all Australian premises. NBN Co is a wholly-owned Commonwealth company that has been prescribed as a Government Business Enterprise (GBE) and is represented by "Shareholder Ministers" -- the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the Minister of Finance and Deregulation. The organization's goal is to deliver Australia's first national wholesale-only, open access broadband network to all Australians, regardless of where they live. For more information, visit: www.nbnco.com.au.

About Space Systems/LoralSpace Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (NASDAQ: LORL), has a long history of delivering reliable satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers around the world. As the world's leading provider of commercial satellites, the company works closely with satellite operators to provide spacecraft for a broad range of services including television and radio distribution, digital audio radio, broadband Internet, and mobile communications. Billions of people around the world depend on SS/L satellites every day. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.

About Loral Space & CommunicationsLoral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary, the company is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring, and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat, one of the world's largest providers of satellite services. Telesat operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute direct-to-home video and broadband data services, and other value-added
communications services. For more information, visit Loral's Web site at www.loral.com. LORL-G

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "believes," "expects," "plans," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "anticipates," "estimates," "project," "intend" or "outlook" or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Inc., Space Systems/Loral, Inc. or their representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and press releases or oral
statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results as a result of certain risks and uncertainties which are described as "Risk Factors" and in the "Commitments and Contingencies" note to the financial statements in Loral's 2010 annual report on Form 10-K filed March 15, 2011. The reader is specifically referred to this document, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (1) risks associated with financial factors, including swings in the global financial markets, financial covenants in SS/L's credit agreement, increases in interest rates and access to capital; (2) risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, cyclicality of SS/L's end-user markets,
contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of our factory and personnel; (3) regulatory risks, such as the effect of U.S. export control and economic sanction laws; and (4) other risks, including litigation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Furthermore, Loral and SS/L operate in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the control of Loral and SS/L.